“Stop moving!”, “Stay here!”, “Hold, stop, do slowly!”, “Not there, it's long here!” – Actually, you just want to go on a relaxed after -work walk with your four -legged friend, but are you pulling across the forest like a human anchor? Don't worry: you are not alone – and there is a very simple solution to your problem!
The answer is foot work – and if you now think that this is something for Labradore, competitive dogs and perfectionists – you don't want to be guided, foot position and other frills – well, then you thought wrong, because foot work really needs to go for a walk with his dog instead of just being the linen holder.
The myth: linen guide is easy, footwork is for professionals
Many think that linen guidance is suitable for everyday use, easy, and really one of the absolute basics for dogs, while foot work is actually more of the sterber discipline: for dogs and dog owners who want to make it particularly great, for the athletes, pedigree dogs and perfectionists. Say that linen guide is much easier than foot work.
This is where the next surprise comes: it works the other way around. Footwork is much easier for your dog to understand than linen guidance, and I'll show you why:
Why foot work is easier to understand for your dog
Footwork is clearly defined. Your dog knows exactly where to run: namely on your leg. He recognizes his ritual for foot work and immediately knows: “Okay, now I'm going to the leg, now footwork is being done”. You give a clear structure – start signal, position and end ritual, so that your dog clearly understands the frame – before and after it can sniff, but now you are running on the foot. Your dog understands: “I'm staying here now, everything is good”, and you can also avoid unnecessary problems with unnecessary puzzle rates.
Fun fact: Because this type of training creates a real connection between humans and dogs, many dogs that have learned to get foot work with this system often simply come into the foot position so voluntarily and unsolicited to walk a bit with their owner.
In addition, you systematically set up the footwork. This means that your progress is also visible. You do not distinguish between “no foot work” and “good footwork”, but can see exactly how many steps – literally – you move together together. So you can also celebrate the small successes – passing the soccer field – and do not have to wait for the Holy Grail everywhere, no matter what happens.
Why linen guide is so much more difficult
Linen guidance sounds so wonderfully simple: “My dog just shouldn't pull”. But what sounds easy is for your dog – and also for you – much more difficult than you may think. Let me explain this briefly using an example: Think of the poison bait training: Ultimately, you want “only” that your dog does not eat anything off the ground. However, this only sounds logical for you. It looks very different for your dog: “Oh, kebab residue, can I?”, “Hmm, kebab was not possible, but here is a piece of sausage, that is safe”. “There is something here again, delicious! I wasn't allowed to eat the things beforehand because they were lying on the sidewalk? Are things in the park automatically food?”
For you, this means: You have to train a lot of different situations before your dog understands that you really mean “don't eat anything” by “not eating”. This is because dogs learn location -based. They always include places and circumstances into their learning process.
Back to the leash. It takes much longer to make your dog the meaning of linen guidance (don't pull) to teach because he first has to rule out all other factors. Instead of understanding directly that it is corrected because he is pulling, there are – according to Hundbrirn – also a thousand other ways, why he was corrected: “Because there is a bird sitting there? Because we are on the dog place? I just got a biscuit? We are currently running on asphalt?” The list is endless, and for your dog it is really difficult to understand that you only want it that it doesn't pull. Actually, he has already behaved really well by not hunting the bird, and he also really fed his biscuit. This means that your dog has to generalize and decide according to the feeling of what it is being corrected for.
In addition, we humans usually correct differently, depending on the mood and day form. Just ask yourself best: what exactly is pulling? And you can already see: there are huge differences! Pulling from the legs, easy pulling, slow and steady pulling, letting it hang, pulling with a really hurt … the list is quite long. As if that weren't complicated enough, there are different lines that have different lengths, so that the radius for your dog also varies depending on the leash, so that it is directly back on the guess: “Will I be pulled because another dog is coming? Is it because of the car that is just overnight here?
In short, your dog has to think and interpret a lot, since the leash is required in a wide variety of situations under the most varied of conditions. So it is not that he finds leash guidance stupid, but rather the case that he doesn't understand what you actually want from him.
So your dog is doing his best, but until he understood at some point, “Okay, people pull is stupid, I stop pulling up” your walk is almost over, your arm is five centimeters longer and you need the round relaxation even more urgently than before your walk.
Conclusion: linen guidance is much more difficult than foot work
For your dog, linen guide is more moped and puzzle rates Deluxe. Depending on the daily form and situation, there are many differences, is confusing and usually leads to frustration. Footwork, on the other hand, offers clear rules and a visible structure, so that it is clearly understandable for humans and dogs. You are always in the same position, use the same rituals and have the same expectation: Now footwork is done – and your dog knows exactly what that means.
Do you want relaxed walks and a dog that runs with you instead of pulling on you? Then foot work is exactly what you need. Not because it is “sporty” or looks chic, but because it is easier: for you and your dog. You give the signal, your dog runs on the leg and you both feel safe.
So! Now you are definitely convinced that foot work is just right for you, but you don't know where you should actually start? Don't worry, many are like that. This is exactly why dog expert Susanne Reinke shows you in part 3 of this series how you integrate structured footwork into your everyday life in five simple steps. Without drill and frustration, but with fun and some aha moments. So stay tuned!
Tip: Susanne Reinke's podcast for foot work.